Top Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

I love football. I don’t just love football, I am in love with football. More important than my love for football is my love for the Green Bay Packers, which any cheese-loving football fan knows, is the greatest sports franchise in professional sports. Their victories are my victories; their defeats, my own.

Every year while I was growing up, my family took a week out of our very busy schedules and took a vacation. One year, my father decided to take us to none other than Green Bay, Wisconsin to witness the Green Bay Packers play a Monday Night Football game.

We stayed in Wisconsin for a week and the time spent with my family brought us closer together than any other vacation trip I can remember. To this day, I do not know why this vacation trip brought us together so much when there were many other times we spent together. The trip, as a whole, was something I will never forget.

I have not always appreciated how much this trip truly meant to my family and me. I did not really understand how important it was for families to bond together until I started talking to my friends about my trip. I remember seeing a distinct look of sadness, almost jealousy when talking about how great it was that my family and I could spend that week together. I soon came to realize that of my friends, my parents were some of the few that ensured we bonded the way that we have.

I found out that some of my friend’s families never even took vacations – and not necessarily because they could not afford it, but because their parents were too busy with work, life and everything in between. More importantly, in many cases those same friends who did not take vacations, rarely spent quality time with their families. How many of my friends missed out on opportunities to spend time with their loved ones? Did they really know their families? Their likes, dislikes, morals, thoughts, feelings, emotions and fears?

I soon came to find out that the answer, in many cases, was no. My feeling of grief and sorrow was amplified because I knew so many of them envied the relationships I had with my family.

It was then that I decided that I would follow my parent’s footsteps with my children. I made a promise to myself and my future children that I would give them every opportunity to bond with their family and get to know each other as a person.

It was not just about watching the Green Bay Packers for us during our week in Wisconsin; it was about loving each other and being able to bond as a family. Those memories are the ones I will always remember. Those are the types of memories I hope that, one day, my sons and daughters will be able to look back on and say that they will never forget.

Essay of the Week

A chance encounter in a coffee shop introduced writer Rachel Richardson to a man who had many stories to tell. Ms. Richardson came to understand that everyone has a story, and our lives can be enriched by listening to the stories of others.Click here to read her essay.